This invention relates to a dewatering method and apparatus.
While the method and apparatus of the present invention have many applications in the industrial separation of solids from liquids, its utility in connection with the separation of burned particles in a particle board manufacturing plant will be described.
In a particle board manufacturing plant, wood chips are burned in an incinerator to create heat. Hot flue gases are created that contain unburned particles, carbon, and soot. The hot flue gases are passed through a scrubber where water takes the solids out of the gases. Currently, the effluent from the scrubber with its entrained particles is directed into a pit where the effluent sits while the solids slowly settle out. The Environmental Protection Agency demands that the problem of the open pit be addressed. Rain tends to fill up the pit and spread the effluent all over the surrounding soil. In an attempt to solve the problem, a front end loader has been used to dredge out the pit. This operation frequently results in damage to the front end loader.